THE OPENING frame is especially evocative. As a fire burns in the foreground, a man silhouetted against the twilight sky plays a lilting tune on his flute. A blink later, words on the screen locate the song (and hence, the music video) within a tribal movement fighting bauxite mining in Kasipur, Orissa. There is not a moment to spare as KP Sasi’s Gaon Chhodab Nahin (Will not leave the village) recounts the journey of destruction that the country’s tribals are facing in the name of development. In just over five minutes, the music video captures the layers of complexity that has gripped the nation today.

Men and women from the Gond or Oraon tribes, beyond the pale of any media attention, are now use mobile media to get their stories out to other tribals and to the world at large. GEETA SESHU on how C G Swara has gifted communication to those living beyond the digital divide.